A coach of influence.
That’s what Larry Luitjens was.
Perhaps it’s fitting then that a book recently penned about Luitjens carries the name “Larry Luitjens - A Coach of Influence, Legendary Coach from South Dakota.”
The name Larry Luitjens is well-known in South Dakota, particularly in Custer, where the legendary coach racked up most of his 748 wins during a coaching career that spanned from 1967-2014. In that time Luitjens played in 13 state championship games and won seven titles. The floor in the Armory now bares his name.
10 Years ago, 2012 — The former Custer County Sheriff’s Department in the middle of S. 5th St. was no more, after being razed with a trackhoe by Site Works Specialists from Rapid City. The former building, which at one time was a tramway to the top of Big Rock Park, was constructed in 1962. The tramway ran for only two summers ... Custer was among the towns in western South Dakota that experienced record-breaking temperatures early in the year. The town set a new record Jan. 4 when the temperature climbed to 52, breaking the previous record of 49 set in 2001.
Thursday, Jan. 13
Lions Club, noon, Pizza Works
ADD/ADHD Support Group, 6:30 p.m., Monument Health Custer Hospital
Civil Air Patrol, 6:30 p.m., Custer County Airport
Friday, Jan. 14
Storytime, 10 a.m., Custer County Library
Great Bark Beetle Burnout, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Art Expressions
Black Hills Raptors, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.,
Art Expressions Diabetes/Wellness Support Group, 2 p.m., Monument Health Custer Hospital Conference Room
Sunday, Dec. 26
12:10 p.m.: A deputy gave advice in a juvenile matter in Custer County.
12:42 p.m.: Deputies refereed a shouting match between two people at a Washington Street campground in Custer.
1:09 p.m.: An unwanted person or persons were reportedly knocking on a door at Laughing Water Apartments in Custer. The person or persons disappeared and weren’t seen again.
Abortion is likely to be a major topic during the 2022 South Dakota legislative session that begins on Jan. 11, as opponents of the medical procedure see an opportunity to capitalize on recent legal cases across the country that further restricted access to abortion.
South Dakota businesses are feeling the costly effects of the lingering global supply chain issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but many business operators are finding creative ways to keep shelves stocked, to reduce the impact on customers and to continue making a profit.
Throughout 2021, a trying year on many economic fronts, virtually all industries have been affected at some level by either product shortages, raw material shortages, shipping delays and other ripple effects up and down the supply chain.
A non-profit organization founded to help vulnerable people in the Custer area will be celebrating its one year anniversary thismonth. God Bless All Inc. was started last January by Custer native Jane Wise, her husband Lester and a group of their friends and has had a productive year.
Jane said the group’s mission is to help “what we consider vulnerable people—veterans, disabled people, elderly folks.”
“We are a spiritually based non-profit organization,” said Wise. “We want to show people that there are still honest people out there that care.”
10 Years ago, 2002 — Dave Ressler was named the Custer County Chronicle Citizen of the Year. Ressler was the Custer Area Chamber of Commerce executive direcctor at the time, and was honored by the Chronicle for his tireless hours of going above and beyond the call of duty in making Custer a place people want to visit, and a place they want to return to once they have visited...Four Custer residents who were sentenced to state prison for their roles in the “Operation Pharm School” drug bust received sentence commutations from Gov.
Thursday, Jan. 6
Civil Air Patrol, 6:30 p.m., Custer County Airport
Saturday, Jan. 8
Custer County Historical Society, 2 p.m., Custer County Courthouse Annex Pine Room
Custer Community Action Team Food Distribution, 2-5 p.m., CAT building, corner of N. 6th and Lincoln streets
Monday, Jan. 10
Rotary, noon, Custer Senior Center
Custer School District Board of Education, 6 p.m., School Administration Building
Thursday, Dec. 16
5:24 a.m.: A sparking semi-trailer was reportedly bearing down on Custer. A deputy stopped it and helped the driver fix his ailing truck.
6:05 a.m.: A deputy dealt with an abandoned vehicle at a Hermosa truck stop.
6:55 a.m.: A deputy circled the Hermosa school zone.
8:38 a.m.: Private-property, non-injury, non-reportable, fender-bender action happened in downtown Custer. That’s a lot of hyphens for just one call.
